A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction from Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld 1/24

January’s Clarkesworld opens on a high note with “Nothing of Value” by Aimee Ogden. Skip technology allows people to travel long distances by allowing all the information about themselves to be downloaded into a new body at their des­tination while the old version is destroyed. The unnamed protagonist travels to Mars to meet up with a former friend/lover in hopes of rekindling their relationship. One of their points of falling out was Skip technology, and whether a person remains themself after using it. It’s a lovely yet heartbreaking look at what constitutes the self, playing on the Ship of Theseus thought experi­ment. Is the protagonist more like the ship after literally destroying and replacing every part of themselves through Skip technology, or is the lover more like the ship by simply living and gaining new perspectives over time as they grow?

“Just Another Cat in a Box” by E.N. Auslender explores similar questions about the nature of self, as a man wakes in a metal box, knowing he’s one of multiple versions. He ventures out into a ruined world and learns that his previous versions have been throwing themselves into a chasm, trying to build a staircase high enough with their bod­ies that a future version might escape. The story provides an interesting look at the value of the individual versus a potential greater good. The character’s predicament can either be read as an exercise in futility, or a testament to hope, and the open-endedness is effective.

“Binomial Nomenclature and the Mother of Happiness” by Alexandra Munck is a story about an animal behavior scientist who adapts technol­ogy from an astrophysicist colleague that allows them to see emotions as shapes. The story provides a nice look at different modes of communication and ways of understanding and processing the world. “You Dream of the Hive” by C.M. Fields offers up another exploration of the self as a young woman is unwillingly rescued from the Hive, a collective consciousness, and wants nothing more than to return. The story is reminiscent of “The Urge to Create Honey” by Martin Cahill, another Clarkesworld story published in 2022, both explor­ing similar themes from different angles, and both full of lovely writing and imagery.

“Down the Waterfall” by Cécile Cristofari is a bittersweet story about a woman traveling through time by bringing herself to the point of death and freeing herself from the laws of physics. She revisits a moment in her past, attending a poetry reading by a friend that she missed in her current timeline. She was in love with him, but never acted on her feelings, and soon after the reading, he died of a heart attack. Rather than changing the course of her life and exploring a path not taken, it’s a quiet moment of grace to bring herself closure, offering a refreshing take on a time-travel story where the stakes are small and highly personal.

“Stars Don’t Dream” by Chi Hui (translated by John Chu) is a lovely and meditative novel­ette originally published in Chinese in 2022. A series of interconnected viewpoints imagines humanity’s evolving journey into the future. Most people spend their time in the metaverse, consciousnesses traveling virtual worlds while their bodies are exercised and or transported by mech suits. A group comes together to launch avatar puppets onto Venus, further extending humanity’s presence in the solar system. While the nature of exploration may change, the drive to explore and humanity’s capacity to dream remains.

“Rail Meat” by Marie Vibbert is a charming story of two con artists – Ernestine and Rico – who volunteer to be human ballast in a dangerous yacht race, a plan hatched by Rico to win the heart of the heiress who owns the yacht so he can become her trophy husband. It’s a sweet story with a great voice, and provides a nice counterbalance to the other stories in the issue with its lighter a touch. The issue closes with the melancholy “You Can’t Grow in Salted Earth” by Priya Chand, a slightly longer than flash-length piece about a former explorer reflecting on their failed journey to claim part of a new world for themself, ending up back where they started and left behind.

Recommended Stories
“Nothing of Value”, Aimee Ogden (Clarkesworld 1/24)
“Rail Meat”, Marie Vibbert (Clarkesworld 1/24)

This review and more like it in the March 2024 issue of Locus.

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